Using An Augmented Reality Setup For A More Engaging Experience

Jason Robinson

June 17, 2013

exhibit booth

Trade Show

If you haven’t heard of augmented reality, then you are really going to love this new and very cool use of technology to provide an interactive experience for trade show attendees at your next expo. If your exhibit booth has great design and just needs a little something else to really provide that novel and engaging experience that will make other people talk about your company’s booth, then you might want to look into augmented reality or ‘AR’.

So, what is this augmented reality? Is it some kind of crazy expensive technology that I will have to shell out thousands of dollars to do? Well, actually AR can be done for relatively cheap. Depending on the application and the level of customization or development required for your display, you could certainly spend thousands of dollars if you wanted something totally unique and new, but it certainly isn’t necessary to spend that kind of cash to get a decent experience.

Okay, I know. I haven’t even answered the first question, yet. What the heck is this AR thing? Well, AR uses a smartphone’s camera to provide an interactive experience that allows attendees to interact with your exhibit booth in new and exciting ways. There have been a number of applications of this technology in other smartphone apps. Perhaps you’ve heard of Yelp’s ‘monocle’ which allows you to see the names and ratings of various restaurants and their location relative to you, just by moving your cell phone around. The information is overlaid in 3D on top of the camera image. This is how AR works.

Basically, AR is using some kind of imagery over the camera image of a smartphone to provide a virtual experience. This will require the development of an app, so it isn’t something that will be for every company, but it can really provide that extra layer of interactivity and interest for a lot of attendees. You can transform your booth, or even the entire convention center, into a virtual scavenger hunt. You could also make your products come to life, or provide more information about particular products and services that is only available to people who download your app. What’s more, all of this is done in a way that is totally immersive and just plain cool.

So, next time you are trying to come up with a dynamite idea to set yourself apart at the next trade show, consider an AR app and see what kinds of possibilities there are.